Life saving device



Jan. 1, 1963 w. A. FAIRCHILD LIFE SAVING DEVICE Filed March 14, 1962 Arraavens.

awfAwlm United States PatentO 3,070,818 g LIFE SAVING DEVICE t Willis A. Fairchild, 120 W. Jackson St., Shelbyville, Ind.

Filed Mar. 14, 1962, Ser. No. 179,589

' 5 Claims. (Cl. 9-316) This invention relates to a life saving device, and more particularly to an inflatable life saving device.

It is an object of my invention to provide an inflatable life saving device which can be economically manufactured and assembled, which will be of a compact size when in its non-inflated condition, which can be quickly and easily inflated, in which condition it possesses sufficient buoyancy to support a person in the water, and which can be regenerated for repeated use.

According to the preferred form of my invention, there is provided a casing adapted to be fastened onto the person of the user. Said casing is provided with a wall compartmenting it into a pair of chambers, with one of said chambers containing gas under pressure and the other of said chambers containing an inflatable bag. A portion of said wall defines a passage interconnecting said pair of chambers, which passage is closed by a plug to thus prevent the gas in said one chamberfrom inflating the bag in said other chamber until the appropriate time.

3,070,818 Patented Jan. 1, 1963 and conveniently, it may be recharged with said gas through a fill opening 25 closed by a removable closure 26. To prevent the uncontrolled discharge of the gas by said wall portion. Conveniently, to prevent the pres- In order to inflate the bag, an open ended valve is supported in said plug with one of its ends carried within the extent of said plug and its opposite end carried within the extent of the bag. A flexible cover is removably mounted on the casing over the bag-containing chamber and is adapted to be flexed into said chamber to force the valve through the plug so that the compressed gas is free to move through said valve into the bag and inflate the same. Upon inflation, the bag forces said cover from the casing so that said bag is free to balloon outwardly with substantially all of said bag being disposed outside the extent of the casing.

Other objects and features of my invention will become apparent from the more detailed description which follows and from the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a life saving device embodying my invention, but showing portions thereof broken away;

FIG. 2 is a vertical section taken on the line 2--2 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary vertical section similar to FIG. 2, but showing my invention in its inflated condition.

My invention is characterized by the construction of an inflatable life saving device which may have a size sufficiently small that it may be fastened to the users arm, if desired, in the same manner as a wrist watch; the device itself having a size comparable to a conventional wrist watch. As shown in FIG. 2, my device comprises a casing 10 conveniently having pairs of outwardly projecting opposed arms 12 interconnected by pins 13 for interconnecting said casing to a strap 14 which may extend around the users wrist, waist, or any other desired part of his person. At its upper end, the casing 10 is provided with an integral wall 16 having an annular downwardly projecting portion '17 whose lower end is continuous with a radially inwardly extending portion 18. The wall portion 18 terminates outwardly from the center axis of the casing 10 and is continuous with a third wall portion 20 having an annular configuration and projecting downwardly from the wall portion 18. As shown in FIG. 2, the wall 16 compartments the easing 10 into an upper chamber 22 and lower chamber 24, said chambers being interconnected by a passage formed by the annular wall portion 20.

The chamber 24 is adapted to hold a compressed gas,

sure of the gas in the chamber 24 from distorting the plug 28, the lower portion of the plug 28 is covered by a thin sheet 29 of a gas impervious material such as an aluminum alloy, and having its edges bindingly retained between the plug 28 and wall portion 20, as shown in FIG. 2. Carried within the plug 28 is an open ended valve 30. The lower end of said valve which is pointed, as at 32, for piercing through the plug 28 and sheet 29 is carried within the extent of said plug, and the opposite or upper end of said valve is disposed within the interior of an inflatable bag 34 carried within the chamber 22. For reasons that will become more apparent hereinafter, the upper end of the valve 32 is provided with a radially extending flange 35.

As shown in' FIG. 2, the bag 34 in which the upper end of the valve 30 is carried has its open lower end rigidly connected, as by bonding, to a ring 36 which is threadably received against the inner face of the wall portion 17 for thus mounting the bag 34 in the chamber 22. To retain said bag in its collapsed state within the chamber 22, a flexible cover 38 is mounted on the upper end .of the casing. 10 and extends over the otherwise open upper end of the chamber 22. As shown in FIG. 2, the

central portions of the cover 38 and bag 34 are in proximate relation to each other and to the outwardly extending flange 35 of the valve 30.

To inflate my device, a sharp downward blow is applied to the central portion of the cover 38 causing said cover to flex downwardly into the chamber 22 against the central portion of the bag 3-4, with the force of said blow being transmitted to the valve flange 35 to force said valve downwardly through the plug 28 into the position shown in FIG. 3. With the valve in this lowered position, it forms an open passage between the chamber 24 containing the compressed gas and the interior of the bag 34 whereby said gas will exit the chamber 24 through said valve into the bag and inflate the same. The cover 38 is fixedly, but not rigidly, mounted on the casing 10 so that as the bag 34 is inflated, it will force said cover off of the casing and permit the bag to be expanded in the manner shown in FIG. 3 in which substantially all of said bag is disposed outside the extent of the casing. With the bag so inflated, it will have sufiicient buoyancy to support the user in the water.

After my device is used, the bag 34 may be deflated by unthreading the ring 36 from the wall portion 17, and with the bag thus removed, the sheet 29 may be replaced on the plug 28 and the valve 30 retracted to its upward position shown in FIG. 2. The chamber 24 is recharged with gas, the bag reinserted into the chamber 22, and a new cover 38 mounted over the chamber 22 to thus make the device ready to use again.

I claim as my invention:

1. An inflatable life saving device, comprising (a) a casing having a wall compartmentin-g said easing into first and second chambers,

(b) said second chamber being adapted to hold gas under pressure and said first chamber housing an inflatable bag,

(0) said wall having a passage interconnecting said chambers,

(d) means closing said passage,

(e) an open ended valve carried in said means and having one of its ends normally carried within the extent of said means and its other end within the extent of the interior of said bag, and i (f) a'fiexible cover removably mounted on said casing over said first chamber and movable into said first chamber to move said valve through said means to dispose said one valve end in said second chamber to permit the gas in said second chamber to move through said valve to inflate said bag,

(g) said bag upon inflation forcing said cover from said casing whereby substantially all of said bag will be disposed outside the extent of the casing.

2. The invention as set forth in claim 1 in which (a) said one end of said valve is pointed, and

(b) said other end of said valve disposed within the interior of said bag has an outwardly projecting flange generally parallel with said cover.

3. The invention as set forth in claim 1 in which (a) said means comprises a self-sealing plug threadably mounted in said passage, and

(b) a thin sheet of a gas impervious material is disposed between said plug and the interior of said second chamber.

'4. An inflatable life saving device, comprising (a) a casing having a wall compartmenting said easing into first and second chambers,

(b) said wall having a first portion interconnected by an inwardly extending second portion to a third portion forming a passage between said first and second chambers,

(c) means mounted in said third portion and closing said passage,

((1) said second chamber being adapted to hold gas under pressure,

(e) an inflatable bag carried in said first chamber and having an open end rigidly connected to means oper atively engageable with said first wall portion to retain the open end of said bag in said first chamber,

(f) an open ended valve carried in said means in said ,pa's'sage'and having one of its ends normally carried within 'the extent of said means and its opposite end in open communication with the interior of said bag, and

(g a flexible cover removably mounted on said casing over said first chamber and movable to cause said valve to move through said means in said passage to dispose said one valve end in said second chamber and permit said gas to inflate said bag,

(h) said bag upon inflation forcing said cover from said casing whereby substantially all of said bag will be disposed outside the extent of the casing.

5. An inflatable life saving device asset forth in claim '4 with the addition that (a) said means connected to the open end of said bag comprises a ring threadably joined to said first wall portion,

(b) said means mounted in said passage comprises a self-sealing plug threadably mounted in said passage, and

(c) said second chamber has a closeable fill opening.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,687,541 Bannister Aug. 31, 1954 2,979,740 Walker Apr. 18, 1961 FOREIGN PATENTS 77,181 Sweden Jan. 26, 1932 

1. AN INFLATABLE LIFE SAVING DEVICE, COMPRISING (A) A CASING HAVING A WALL COMPARTMENTING SAID CASING INTO FIRST AND SECOND CHAMBERS, (B) SAID SECOND CHAMBER BEING ADAPTED TO HOLD GAS UNDER PRESSURE AND SAID FIRST CHAMBER HOUSING AN INFLATABLE BAG, (C) SAID WALL HAVING A PASSAGE INTERCONNECTING SAID CHAMBERS, (D) MEANS CLOSING SAID PASSAGE, (E) AN OPEN ENDED VALVE CARRIED IN SAID MEANS AND HAVING ONE OF ITS ENDS NORMALLY CARRIED WITHIN THE EXTENT OF SAID MEANS AND ITS OTHER END WITHIN THE EXTENT OF THE INTERIOR OF SAID BAG, AND (F) A FLEXIBLE COVER REMOVABLY MOUNTED ON SAID CASING OVER SAID FIRST CHAMBER AND MOVABLE INTO SAID FIRST CHAMBER TO MOVE SAID VALVE THROUGH SAID MEANS TO DISPOSE SAID ONE VALVE END IN SAID SECOND CHAMBER TO PERMIT THE GAS IN SAID SECOND CHAMBER TO MOVE THROUGH SAID VALVE TO INFLATE SAID BAG, (G) SAID BAG UPON INFLATION FORCING SAID COVER FROM SAID CASING WHEREBY SUBSTANTIALLY ALL OF SAID BAG WILL BE DISPOSED OUTSIDE THE EXTENT OF THE CASING. 